“This is for Jurao,” Apaje reminded cerself, then took a breath before opening the door to the human tavern.

Ce was hit by a wave of sound and smell that made cem want to gag, but ce grit cer teeth and walked inside instead. One of cer favorite parts of being a long-distance scout in the Demon King’s spy reserves was that it usually meant ce was alone in the wilderness, but when the mission was a personal favor for the King… well, ce chose to make sure the letter for the former crown prince of Jost was delivered cerself.

“Well, aren’t you a tall drink of water,” Captain Abbay - or rather, Queen Abbay, grinned and tipped up her tricorn hat as ce approached. She was tall for a human, almost six and a half feet, with dark brown skin and an eyepatch. Her visible eye was the beige of a sandy, sunlit beach, which looked cer up and down approvingly, “Don’t see demons often around here.”

Apaje nodded to her, hands over cer ears at the general din as ce looked to her companion at the bar and asked, “Malson Ealdwine?”

“Who’s asking?” he asked, turning in his seat with a glare. His voice easily cut over all the conversation, which surprised Apaje for how small he was - at least a foot shorter than the captain he sailed with. He had tanned white skin and curly dirty blonde hair cropped short. His eyes were a pale blue, so much as to be almost white.

Apaje reached into a breast pocket of cer jacket, pulling out the letter, “I was asked to deliver this to you on behalf of the Demon King.”

“The Demon King?” Malson demanded, “What the fuck does the Demon King have to do with me?”

Blessedly, the shout caused the din to die out completely.

Apaje sighed in relief and said, “The details are in the letter - I’m not sure if you’ll want to share them… publicly.”

“Why should I-!”

Abbay put a finger to his lips to cut him off, reaching out and accepting the letter on his behalf, “Seriously, princey, the whole town doesn’t need to know, do they?”

Malson rolled his eyes but didn’t try to remove the woman’s finger as she handed him the letter.

“What’s it say?” Abbay asked, watching as he read. She brushed a few stray locs back over her shoulder, giving Apaje a wink.

Ce supposed ce was grateful to avoid more shouting.

“Huh!?” Malson demanded, getting to his feet, “What the-! How would Braelin end up in the Demon Realm!?”

“Your brother?” Abbay arched a brow.

“I don’t know much more than you, to be honest,” Apaje shrugged, “I was just asked to deliver that letter and escort you back to the Demon Realm - if you decided to go.”

“This is obviously some kind of trap!” Malson said, crossing his arms and glaring defiantly.

Apaje shrugged, “I don’t really like escorting people, so if you don’t want to go, that’s fine too.”

Abbay snorted, taking a drink.

“I’m not sure I understand how it would be a trap,” the third person at the bar added, turning in his seat to face outward. He had light brown skin, wavy black hair streaked with gray, and a neat beard and mustache around his chin. His monolid eyes were like brown agate, and one of his arms had been replaced with a siren metal prosthetic. He went on, “Ferrick doesn’t have any ties to the Demon Realm.”

“Who says he-” Malson started.

“Ce,” Apaje corrected.

“Who says ce is actually connected to the Demon Realm!” the former crown prince demanded, “Just because-” Malson paused, whipping his head around to look back at the demon expectantly.

“Cer,” Apaje supplied. Pronouns didn’t have different forms in the Demon Realm, but ce didn’t know how the Mutual Understanding Wish was translating a human equivalent, so thought it was best to say so the magic could pick up cer intent.

“Just because cer is a demon doesn’t mean ce actually works for the Demon King!” Malson went on.

“Well, that’s easy enough,” Abbay said, “Where’s your badge of office… do you prefer handsome or pretty?”

“Either’s fine,” Apaje replied, producing the requested badge.

“Thanks, gorgeous,” the Captain settled on instead, accepting the badge and shouting, “Dasen!”

An imp man trotted over and took the badge - turning it over before nodding, “It’s authentic.”

“There you have it,” Abbay said, waving to have the badge returned, “Ce does work for the Demon King.”

“But-!” Malson made a noise of frustration, “There’s no reason for Braelin to be there!”

“The easiest way to check is just to go see ourselves,” the man with the prosthetic arm said, “We haven’t heard any other news of him, the twins, or your parents, after all.”

“But,” Malson huffed.

“And what do you mean by ‘no reason’?” Abbay chuckled, “Weren’t you telling me the other day how he once almost got scammed trying to buy a demon plant?”

“That’s-!” the former prince made another noise of frustration.

“Why don’t you and Ben here take the night to think it over,” Abbay suggested, then winked at Apaje again, “I wouldn’t mind keeping gorgeous here company if ce’s up for it.”

Apaje cleared cer throat, “It’s a bit loud for me here.”

Abbay got to her feet, “I was more thinking in my quarters, anyway - I like ‘em tall, even if princey’s an exception.”

“Well,” Apaje considered, then shrugged, “Sex is fun, so, sure.”

Abbay laughed, hooking her arm through cers, “That’s the spirit - see you two tomorrow, then!”

Malson sat with another huff, looking conflicted as he waved her off.

***

As was cer habit, Apaje awoke at dawn the next day. Ce stretched, climbing out of the captain’s fairly luxurious bed and collecting cer gear.

“Not even going to say good morning before goodbye?” Abbay teased, voice still tinged with sleep.

Apaje snorted, “I prefer clean getaways.”

“As do I, gorgeous,” she yawned, sitting up, “As do I. Thanks for the fun night - let me know if we cross paths again. I wouldn’t mind round seven.”

“Sure,” Apaje replied, then sighed, “Do you think he’ll go?”

“Princey?” Abbay snorted, “Oh, he’ll go - is his brother really there?”

“If Jurao,” ce paused, “I mean, if his highness says so, then he is. He doesn’t use those kinds of tricks if he doesn’t have to, and I don’t see any reason he should need to convince a former human crown prince to come to the Demon Realm as a trick.”

“So you’re close enough to use the Demon King’s name, eh?” Abbay grinned.

“I served in the same unit of the army with him before he became General,” Apaje shrugged, “Still weird he Ascended, but probably the best person for the job. I wouldn’t have gone in that tavern personally for anyone else.”

The pirate queen chuckled - then tossed out the dagger hidden under her pillow, “Sorry, I’m a bit protective of princey - nothing personal.”

“Wondering if you were going to stab me made the night a little more exciting,” Apaje replied, finishing getting dressed.

Abbay laughed in full, “You’re my kind of people, gorgeous - seriously, let’s hook up again sometime.”

Apaje nodded to her before taking cer leave of her quarters.

Malson and the man Abbay called ‘Ben’ were waiting for cer on the deck of Abbay’s ship.

“We’re going,” Malson said - then pulled out a pistol and tucked it under Apaje’s chin, “But if this is a trick, I will shoot you first.”

You wouldn’t be close enough by the time you’d know it was a trick, Apaje thought, but aloud said, “Sure. Do you need more time, or are we heading out now?”

“Now,” the other man said, hefting a large pack over his shoulder, “Malson, put the gun away now, please.”

Malson sighed but returned the pistol to his belt - Apaje noted he carried two.

The other human held out a hand, “Beneford - just Beneford. I used to be Jost’s Captain of the Castle Guard.”

“Apaje,” ce said, shaking, “Demons only really use one name, anyway.”

“Good to know,” Beneford sighed.

“Hey, princey,” Abbay called out, poking her head out of the door of her suite, “If it’s a bust, feel free to come back - I’ll be sure to make it up to you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Malson rolled his eyes - but smiled as well.

“So, where are we headed?” Beneford asked.

“The best Gate for us to use is in Vede,” Apaje replied, “It’s about a month by foot - for me, anyway. You’d have to get horses to keep up.”

“Horses it is,” Benford replied without questioning cer claim.

As ce always did when traveling with companions, ce observed.

Malson was always loud - Apaje was certain he could give Jurao’s Captain of the Guard a run for his money. But most of his volume was bluster - he rarely seemed to get upset. In fact, he was pretty competent - Apaje could certainly hear the results of a princely education during his long-winded discussions of philosophy or ancient war tactics with Beneford and in the deft way he handled his mount over various terrain.

Beneford was more level-headed - as one would expect from his former position. He treated the prince more like a youth in his charge than anything, despite the younger human being in his forties. Apaje guessed it was a habit - likely, he had tutored Malson in fighting as an adolescent. Beneford gave off an air of being at ease with his surroundings - but truth be told, Apaje was warier of the man’s longsword than Malson’s gun.

Malson would give cer warning. Beneford was more experienced than that.

“He better be there!” Malson warned, as he did almost every night when they made camp.

“If the King says he is, then he is,” Apaje said in lieu of cer usual noncommittal hum. Ce was beginning to suspect there was a deeper reason for the former prince’s insistence than a healthy amount of paranoia for the still-living heir of an usurped throne.

“Give it a rest, Malson,” Beneford sighed, “Apaje is just following orders.”

Malson slapped the ground, “He has to be there, Ben! I have to-!”

The prince got to his feet with a huff, taking off, “I’m taking a walk.”

“So,” Apaje asked when ce knew the prince was out of hearing range, “What’s that really about?”

Beneford sighed, “Malson’s brother took a potentially lethal blow for him - and they were separated when Braelin was still injured. He knows it wasn’t really his fault, but… well.”

Apaje whistled, “I can see why that would make him agitated.”

Beneford nodded in agreement and added, “I should have seen the signs - I always had a bad feeling about Ferrick, but nothing concrete enough to warrant an investigation. I thought he was just… typical nobility, more than anything.”

“I can relate to that,” Apaje snorted, “I’m only a minor noble myself, but I earned my title in the army, so I tend not to get along with the lineage nobility. Part of the reason I’m out here.”

“My father was a knight before me,” Beneford said, “And his before his and many lines back - but I still preferred the company of the men and women I led than many of my peers, certainly. But Ebener… he was a good king. A good friend. I hope he’s well - I hope they all are.”

“Well, Jurao’s looking for all of you, apparently,” Apaje shrugged, “So you’ll probably have better luck finding the answer to that question in the Demon Realm anyway.”

“Do you know why he’s going to so much effort?” Beneford asked.

Apaje chuckled, “Oh, I rarely know why Jurao does what he does - but I trust him, so I don’t question it.”

Malson returned at that time, sitting back down with another huff and saying, “Sorry!”

“Hm?” Apaje asked.

“I’m being an ass,” the prince sighed, carding a hand through his hair, “So sorry.”

“Eh,” Apaje snorted, “S’fine. I’m only stuck with you for another week or so, anyway.”

Malson scoffed - but the silence afterward felt easier.

I wonder what this Braelin guy is like, anyway, Apaje thought, watching the flames of their campfire dance.